Professor John A Allen BSc, PhD

Emeritus Professor

Retired from the hustle and bustle of university life (1971-2010), my research remains centred on frequency-dependent selection as a mechanism for maintaining genetic diversity. My main focus is on fieldwork to try to unravel the genetic, ecological and behavioural reasons why unrelated species of land snails in different regions – Europe, east Africa and Cuba, for example - often have similar diversity in the coloration of their shells. I also continue to be Editor-in-Chief of the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, an international journal of evolution and successor to the one in which Darwin and Wallace published their epic paper on natural selection.

Career history

2010-Present: Emeritus Professor, University of Southampton, UK.
2003-2008: Deputy Head of School (Education), University of Southampton, UK.
2000-2003: Head of Biodiversity and Ecology Division, University of Southampton, UK.
1996-2000: Chair of Honours, University of Southampton, UK.
1976-2010: Lecturer & Senior Lecturer, University of Southampton, UK.
1971-1975: Lecturer in Zoology, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Academic qualifications

1964-1971: BSc and PhD, University of Edinburgh, UK.